Tag Archives: Dennis Kucinich

January 3, 2013 · 3:25 AM

The 112th Congress: A farewell list

Daily Kos

Per the 20th Amendment, the terms of the members of the 112th Congress expire at noon on Thursday, ready or not. As I did two years ago, it’s worth taking a moment to say farewell, thank you, and in some cases good riddance to those members of Congress who now depart the institution.  Via Roll Call:

Defeated in General Election – (27 House: 10D, 17R; 1 Senate: 1R)
House
Joe Baca, D-Calif., 65, 6 terms
Roscoe G. Bartlett, R-Md., 86, 10 terms
Charles Bass, R-N.H., 60, 1 term
Howard L. Berman, D-Calif., 71, 15 terms
Judy Biggert, R-Ill., 75, 7 terms
Brian P. Bilbray, R-Calif., 61, 3 terms
Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., 51, 7 terms
Leonard L. Boswell, D-Iowa, 78, 8 terms
Ann Marie Buerkle, R-N.Y., 61, 1 term
Francisco “Quico” Canseco, R-Texas, 63, 1 term
Ben Chandler, D-Ky., 53, 4 terms
Chip Cravaack, R-Minn., 52, 1 term
Mark Critz, D-Pa., 50, 1 term
Robert Dold, R-Ill., 43, 1 term
Frank Guinta, R-N.H., 42, 1 term
Nan Hayworth, R-N.Y., 53, 1 term
Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., 54, 1 term
Larry Kissell, D-N.C., 61, 2 terms
Jeff Landry, R-La., 42, 1 term
Dan Lungren, R-Calif., 66, 4 terms
Laura Richardson, D-Calif., 50, 2 terms
David Rivera, R-Fla., 47, 1 term
Bobby Schilling, R-Ill., 48, 1 term
Pete Stark, D-Calif., 81, 20 terms
Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, 49, 3 terms
Joe Walsh, R-Ill., 51, 1 term
Allen B. West, R-Fla., 51, 1 termSenate
Scott P. Brown, R-Mass., 53, 1 term

Defeated for Other Office – (6 House: 1D, 5R)
Todd Akin, R-Mo., 65, 6 terms
Rick Berg, R-N.D., 53, 1 term
Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., 61, 7 terms
Connie Mack, R-Fla., 45, 4 terms
Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., 57, 6 terms
Bob Turner, R-N.Y., 71, 1 term

Retiring – (25 House: 14D, 11R; 10 Senate: 6D, 1I, 3R)
House
Gary L. Ackerman, D-N.Y., 70, 14 terms
Steve Austria, R-Ohio, 54, 2 terms
Dan Boren, D-Okla., 39, 4 terms
Dan Burton, R-Ind., 74, 15 terms
Jerry F. Costello, D-Ill., 63, 12 terms
Norm Dicks, D-Wash., 72, 18 terms
David Dreier, R-Calif., 60, 16 terms
Barney Frank, D-Mass., 72, 16 terms
Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., 68, 13 terms
Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, 67, 7 terms
Wally Herger, R-Calif., 67, 13 terms
Maurice D. Hinchey, D-N.Y., 74, 10 terms
Timothy V. Johnson, R-Ill., 66, 6 terms
Dale E. Kildee, D-Mich., 83, 18 terms
Steven C. LaTourette, R-Ohio, 58, 9 terms
Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., 78, 17 terms
Brad Miller, D-N.C., 59, 5 terms
Sue Myrick, R-N.C., 71, 9 terms
John W. Olver, D-Mass., 76, 10 terms
Ron Paul, R-Texas, 77, 8 terms
Todd R. Platts, R-Pa., 50, 6 terms
Mike Ross, D-Ark., 51, 6 terms
Heath Shuler, D-N.C., 40, 3 terms
Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., 78, 15 terms
Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., 75, 10 termsSenate
Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, 88, 3 terms
Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., 69, 5 terms
Kent Conrad, D-N.D., 64, 4 terms
Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, 69, 3 terms
Herb Kohl, D-Wis., 77, 4 terms
Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., 70, 3 terms
Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., 70, 4 terms
Ben Nelson, D-Neb., 71, 2 terms
Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, 65, 3 terms
Jim Webb, D-Va., 66, 1 term

Defeated in Primary – (13 House: 7D, 6R; 1 Senate: 1R)
House
Sandy Adams, R-Fla., 56, 1 term
Jason Altmire, D-Pa., 44, 3 terms
Russ Carnahan D-Mo., 54, 4 terms
Hansen Clarke, D-Mich., 55, 1 term
Tim Holden, D-Pa., 55, 10 terms
Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Ohio, 66, 8 terms
Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., 68, 10 terms
Ben Quayle, R-Ariz., 36, 1 term
Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, 68, 8 terms
Steven R. Rothman, D-N.J., 60, 8 terms
Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, 61, 3 terms
Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., 71, 12 terms
John Sullivan, R-Okla., 47, 5 termsSenate
Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., 80, 6 terms

In addition, several members have resigned before the end of their terms. Remember these names?

Resigned – (11 House: 8D, 3R; 1 Senate: 2R)
House
Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., 53, 5 terms
Geoff Davis, R-Ky., 54, 4 terms
Bob Filner, D-Calif., 70, 10 terms
Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., 42, 3 terms
Jane Harman, D-Calif., 67, 6 terms
Jay Inslee, D-Wash., 61, 8 terms
Jesse L. Jackson Jr., D-Ill., 47, 8 terms
Christopher Lee, R-N.Y., 48, 2 terms
Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., 47, 5 terms
Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., 48, 7 terms
David Wu, D-Ore., 57, 7 termsSenate
John Ensign, R-Nev., 54, 2 terms
Jim DeMint, R-S.C., 61, 2 terms

While several House members will be switching chambers on Thursday (Baldwin, Donnelly, Flake, Heinrich, Hirono, and C. Murphy), only one will be leaving for state office—Gov.-elect Mike Pence, Indiana.

Finally, Rep. Donald Payne and Sen. Daniel Inouye died before the end of this Congress.

As with many here, I’ve got a special place in my heart for North Carolina’s Rep. Brad Miller, who elected not to engage Rep. David Price in a bruising primary when his district had been destroyed by Republican gerrymandering. No member of Congress has been a truer friend to the Netroots, on policy issues and just … as a friend, coming to Netroots Nation year after year, and conferring with us is so many other ways. No one on the Hill understood housing and consumer banking issues better, and a Congress without Brad Miller will be a less interesting place. Here’s hoping Brad, and the other departing members, continue to find ways to serve their communities, and the public at large.

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April 29, 2012 · 8:28 AM

Allen West Endorses Joe The Plumber For Congress

Allen West Joe The PlumberThe dumbing down of the American political process continues…

The Huffington Post

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, more commonly known as “Joe The Plumber” for his role in the 2008 presidential campaign, won the endorsement of Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) in his bid for Congress in Ohio.

In a campaign video posted Thursday by Wurzelbacher, West says, “One of the great things about Joe is that he represents the genuineness of the American people. Someone who has served in the military, and now is trying to answer the call to serve at a greater level.”

He adds, “I look forward to Joe being a colleague of mine in Washington, D.C.”

Wurzelbacher is running in a heavily Democratic district against longtime Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who beat Rep. Dennis Kucinich after the two were forced to run against each other because of GOP-led redistricting.

West recently alleged that members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — which Kaptur is a member of — were communists.

“I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party. It’s called the Congressional Progressive Caucus,” he said at a recent town hall event.

I suggest you don’t eat for at least an hour after you view the following video. <Barf>

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August 15, 2011 · 2:43 AM

Super Committee Owned By The Super Rich

I’ve been wondering, given the partisan nature in the House and Senate these days, shouldn’t there have been thirteenth person on the “Super Committee” in case they are  deadlocked on an issue?  After all, that’s the reason we have nine Justices on the Supreme Court isn’t it?

News Corpse

The so-called Super Committee created by congress to dodge responsibility for …um… I mean to craft legislation for deficit reduction, has not been been particularly well received by anyone.

Newt Gingrich: I think this super-committee is about as dumb an idea as Washington has come up with in my lifetime.

Dennis Kucinich: It’s like, “Honey, I shrunk the Congress.” Congress is now reduced to a majority of seven members on a committee … Everything about this deal is wrong.

They are both right. It’s a dumb idea that puts way too much power in the hands of too small a group. It seems virtually designed to fail. The alleged incentive for the participants to reach an agreement is the threat of draconian cuts to social services and defense. But since the purpose of the committee is to make draconian, unpopular cuts anyway, why wouldn’t the members prefer to decline compromise and let the process take the blame?

What isn’t getting much attention, however, is that the members of the committee have vested interests in the affairs of the programs they are overseeing. In the 2010 election cycle members received combined over $122 million from the very industries and corporations whose budgets they must now slash. Those industries represent the most powerful sectors of the American economy including defense, health care, energy, and banking. The list of the biggest contributors to the committee members tells us a lot about what to expect from their deliberations:

Donor Amount
Club for Growth 993,394
Microsoft Corp 243,625
Elliott Management 233,704
EMILY’s List 202,656
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey 156,350
New York Life Insurance 139,850
General Electric 138,610
Boeing Co 135,910
JPMorgan Chase & Co 133,399
Amgen Inc 131,150
American Financial Group 125,652
DaVita Inc 118,200
Goldman Sachs 114,700
University of Washington 110,164
Comcast Corp 103,465
Blue Cross/Blue Shield 100,100
Citigroup Inc 95,599
Schering-Plough Corp 91,200
Denny Miller Assoc 90,900
[Source: OpenSecrets.org]

The pressure on these committee members to placate their benefactors will be enormous. And these wealthy special interests will certainly unleash their army of lobbyists to keep the federal funds flowing. With all the focus on just a dozen legislators it actually makes it easier to manipulate the outcome because lobbyists don’t have to spread the wealth, and their time, to the other 523 members of congress.

It’s notable that the conservative, anti-tax, Club for Growth so far outpaces the other heavy hitters on the list. Committee member Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) is their former president, but John Kyl (R-AZ) also got a generous gift. Many of the donors contributed to multiple members of the committee, i.e. Comcast, GE, and hedge fund company, Elliott Management.

There is one ray of hope and that is for the Super Committee members to demonstrate the famous cowardice of American lawmakers. They could actually deliver a balanced bill that makes targeted cuts and raises revenues from the rich and through the elimination of subsidies and loopholes. By doing so they would throw the ball back to the full congress and make them vote on it. After all, why should the super dozen take all the heat?

In any event, it is imperative that we have an accounting of the financial associations between the committee and their big contributors. In pursuit of that, Common Cause has initiated a campaign to support the Super Committee Sunshine Act (S. 1498), a bill requiring that all campaign and PAC contributions to Super Committee members are disclosed within 48 hours. That’s something all sides of this highly charged process should support.

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April 17, 2011 · 12:47 AM

Politico’s: The Week In One-Liners

Politico

The week’s top 10 quotes in politics: 

“There is zero chance that Donald Trump would ever be hired by the American people to do this job.”— White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe knocking Trump for 2012 in an interview on ABC News. 

“There’s 85 cousins in the fourth generation. About half of them say they’re going to go into politics. So I think that there’s, like, a tsunami coming.” — Bobby Kennedy Jr. describing the political aspirations of the rest of his family. 

“I was never sure that I wanted to be there for, you know, four years.” — Former White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers opening up about the infamous gate-crashing incident that ended her tenure in the Obama administration. 

“Sounds to me like @ConanOBrien has hair envy #Mitt2012″—Team Romney engaging in a Twitter match with comedian Conan O’Brien.

“I have a great relationship with the blacks. I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks.”— Donald Trump explaining his support among African-Americans in an interview with the New York Observer. 

“He was praying that nobody will find out just how disingenuous they are about actually cutting the expenses…” — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee putting forth the idea that Vice President Joe Biden was praying, not sleeping, during Obama’s speech on the nation’s debt. 

“I sincerely apologize to David Byrne.”—Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist saying sorry to musician David Byrne for using his song without permission in a campaign ad. 

“Yes, he is foul-mouthed. Yes, that finger thing is a little creepy. But I love him anyway.” — President Obama expressing his affection for Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel. 

“His remark was not intended to be a factual statement…” —A spokesperson for Jon Kyl addressing an erroneous statement that the senator made about Planned Parenthood. 

“You’re going to have to ask Dennis.” —Congressman (and ventriloquist?) Dennis Kucinich deferring to his puppet in response to a question about how he keeps winning elections on “The Daily Show.”

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April 15, 2011 · 12:04 AM

Scott Walker Admits Union-Busting Provision ‘Doesn’t Save Any’ Money For The State Of Wisconsin

Rep. Dennis Kucinich deserves all the praise for this one…

Think Progress

Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called Govs. Scott Walker (R-WI) and Peter Shumlin (D-VT) to testify in a hearing titled “State and Municipal Debt: Tough Choices Ahead.” Much of the hearing was spent probing Wisconsin’s spate of anti-union restrictions it recently passed.

At one point, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) confronted Walker about his crackdown on public employee unions. The congressman referenced a provision Walker signed into law that would require union members to vote every year to continue their membership. Kucinich asked the governor how much money the state would save from the provision. Walker repeatedly dodged the question and eventually admitted that it actually wouldn’t save anything at all.

Kucinich then asked Walker how much money would be saved by barring union dues from being drawn from employee paychecks, another provision of Walker’s legislation. Walker claimed that it would save workers money, but was unable to explain how it would save the state any money. Kucinich then produced a document from the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the state’s equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office, that concluded that Walker’s measures were “nonfiscal” — meaning they had no impact on the state’s finances. Kucinich asked that the letter be included in the public record, but Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) refused:

Walker’s admission is crucial because he had long claimed that his anti-union “budget repair bill” was designed to save the state money, not bust unions. But his words today echo those of Wisconsin state senate leader Scott Fitzgerald (R), who last month effectively admitted that the union fights are not about budgetary issues, but rather about winning the next election by depleting the ranks of organized labor.

H/t YankeeClipper:

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April 14, 2011 · 5:54 PM

Rep. Bruce Braley puts the screws to Scott Walker

I love this, although Walker got help from the Rep. Darrell Issa.  Rep Braley is a very good inquisitor and I mean that in a positive way.

More Scott Walker testimony…

 

Scott Walker: “I Don’t Even Know Where Cali Is”

 

Wisconsin Congresswoman Gwen Moore Questions Governor Scott Walker before Congressional Committee

 

C-Span has the entire three hour testimony here…

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March 29, 2011 · 12:05 AM

President Obama Tries — Without Success — To Explain His Way Around An Undeclared War

John Nichols – The Nation

President Obama finally got around to speaking to the American people about the fact that he has led the country into a third war.

The speech was, to no one’s surprise, ably delivered. The president spoke with emotional and rhetorical power of how he felt there had been a need to intervene in order to prevent “a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.” He explained how there are times “when our safety is not directly threatened, but our interests and values are.” He decried the temptation “to turn away from the world” and promised that “wherever people long to be free, they will find a friend in the United States.”
 
Those are noble sentiments, well expressed.
 
Unfortunately, he also spoke about how he had initiated the way on his own: “I ordered warships into the Mediterranean.” I refused to let that happen.” “I authorized military action…” “At my direction…”
 
The problem is that presidents are not supposed to start wars, especially wars of whim that are offensive rather than defensive in nature. That was the complaint against George W. Bush when he failed to obtain a declaration of war before ordering the invasion of Iraq, that is the ongoing complaint against Obama for maintaining the undeclared wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that is the legitimate and necessary complaint against Obama now, a complaint that should come not just opponents of the military intervention but supporters who want that intervention to be lawful and legitimate.
 
The president did not address the fact that the Libyan adventure is an undeclared war. In fact, he barely mentioned the Congress that is supposed to declare wars, saying only: “And so nine days ago, after consulting the bipartisan leadership of Congress, I authorized military action to stop the killing and enforce U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973.”
 
But the Constitution does not discuss “consulting the bipartisan leadership…” It says that: “Congress shall have the power… to declare war, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.”
 
That was the point that Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, made with regard to the speech.

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March 17, 2011 · 7:04 PM

Ending The Afghan War Would Save Taxpayers 40,000 Times More Money Than Defunding NPR

There’s a school of thought that says the GOP doesn’t care about saving taxpayers money.  However, they are concerned about their party’s ideals and what they are against.    They are against any liberal agenda, period.   Jobs and saving taxpayers money are not on their agenda.

Think Progress

Today, two deficit-cutting bills will be voted on in the House of Representatives. One bill, introduced by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) and fellow Republicans, would end all federal funding to National Public Radio (NPR). The other bill, sponsored by Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Walter Jones (R-NC) and being pushed largely by progressive Democrats, calls for setting a strict timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan that would mandate the end of combat operations in that country by the end of 2011.

[...]

Additionally, as the National Priorities Project shows, ending the war could help free up money for countless domestic priorities, like hiring millions of teachers or funding health care for tens of millions of poor children. Here are just some of the alternatives that could be funded for the cost of one year of the Afghan war:

- Health Care For 55 Million Low Income Children

- 1.6 million Elementary School Teachers for One Year

- 1.9 million Firefighters for One Year

- 14.1 million Head Start Slots for Children for One Year

- 13.8 million Military Veterans Receiving VA Medical Care for One Year

- 1.6 million Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officers for One Year

- 19.3 million Students receiving Pell Grants of $5550

- 13.6 million Scholarships for University Students for One Year

Continue reading…

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March 6, 2011 · 4:19 AM

Sunday Blog Round Up

Quote of the Day
“I didn’t even know his name before this brouhaha erupted.” — Charles Koch, quoted b..

Jon Stewart on the GOP double standard – teachers versus bankers
The Daily Show – Crisis in Dairyland - For Richer and Poorer – Teachers and Wall Str..

DoD Stonewalls Dennis Kucinich’s Attempt To See Bradley Manning. Why?
enlarge Marcy Wheeler with the latest on how the Department of Defense is stonewalli..

Krauthammer and the “Bush freedom agenda” fallacy
Ever since the uprisings began unfolding in the Middle East, conservatives have stru..

Are Wisconsin Republicans preparing to break with Walker?
I don’t know if these reports are true or not, and we should treat them with caution..

Sunday Talk: You say you want a revolution
With recent polling —conducted by reputable and disreputable pollsters alike—showing..

Limbaugh Falsely Claims There Were “No Hearings” On Health C..
Rush Limbaugh claimed that there were “no hearings” or “meaningful conversation” on ..

Beck Turns To The Fringe To Validate His “Crazy Conspiracy Theory..
Glenn Beck reached to the right-wing fringe for validation of his discredited conspi..

Mitt Romney: ‘Obamacare Is Bad Law’
BARTLETT, N.H. — Call it an attempt to address an obvious political vulnerabil..

Human Bones Found in Florida Yard Date Back 2,400 Years
When a woman digging in her yard on the Florida Keys last fall turned up a jawbone a..

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January 29, 2011 · 12:39 AM

The Week In One-Liners

 

Politico

The week’s top 10 quotes in politics: 

“We didn’t elect Superman, we elected a human being.” – Colin Powell, on President Barack Obama. 

“I’m trying to stay out of prison, obviously.” – Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, on his current goals. 

“Am I looking at the right camera?” – White House advisor David Axelrod, mocking Michele Bachmann’s confusing Tea Party Express interview, during his own TV interview. 

“In spite of the fact that I’m now on TV, I don’t want to be on TV.” – Former President George W. Bush, telling C-SPAN how low-key he’d prefer his life to be. 

“Granny is safe.” – President Obama, defending his health care bill from the “death panel” charges. 

“I can’t spell at all. … In fact, you don’t have to know how to spell anymore” – Vice President Joe Biden, revealing one of the perks of power. 

“It’s a tricky job. I’m sure I wouldn’t be any good at it.” – Incoming White House press secretary Jay Carney, assessing the job in a 2006 interview on C-SPAN. 

“I’m Italian. We don’t have problems with olives.” – Rep. David Cicilline, dinging Rep. Dennis Kucinich in an interview with ABC News. 

“Promiscuous.” – Former President Bill Clinton, describing political advisor David Gergen’s political switch-hitting, while in Davos, Switzerland. 

“Back off.” - Sen. Harry Reid, issuing a warning to the White House on its efforts to rein in congressional earmarks.

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